Bhubaneswar, Dec 8: As the Income Tax (IT) sleuths seized over Rs 220 crore in cash during raids on Odisha-based distillery group till Friday afternoon, Prime Minister Narendra Modi  hit out at those involved in corruption saying every penny looted will have to be returned.

The Prime Minister was apparently referring to Opposition leaders who allegedly have links with the liquor firm.

"The countrymen should look at the pile of these notes and then listen to the honest 'speeches' of their leaders…..Whatever has been looted from the public, every penny will have to be returned, this is Modi’s guarantee," PM Modi said in a Hindi post on X, formerly known as Twitter.

The Prime Minister also attached a photo of a Hindi newspaper in which the cash recovered by the IT department was shown stacked.

IT officials first raided BDPL on December 6 on allegations of tax evasion, and later searched the premises of Baldeo Sahu and Group of Companies, from where they claim to have recovered 156 bags of cash. Subsequently, simultaneous raids were conducted in Titlagarh, Sambalpur, Sundargarh and Bhubaneswar in Odisha and in a few places in Jharkhand, said official sources.

Also Read: BJP Demands CBI Inquiry Into Seizure Of Rs 500-Cr From Liquor Trader

The IT department has so far seized over Rs 220 crore in simultaneous raids conducted at around 25 premises in Odisha and Jharkhand linked to Baldeo Sahu and Group of Companies Ltd, a country-liquor manufacturing and selling firm with operations across Odisha’s western districts.

The total seized amount is likely to go up as the counting process is still on, sources in the IT department said.

According to IT sources, the group is allegedly linked to Congress Rajya Sabha MP from Jharkhand Dhiraj Sahu, whose family members run the business. It’s a partnership firm of Boudh Distilleries Private Limited (BDPL) and a leading country-liquor manufacturing firm, IT sources said.

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